5 Dental Health Resolutions You Will Actually Keep

The New Year is almost upon us! How many times have you resolved to go on diets, stop drinking soda, take up new exercise routines, or something else only to find that after the second week of January you don’t even remember what your resolution was? Have you considered bettering your dental health as a resolution? This is something you can easily stay committed to in the new year.

Brush your teeth twice a day no matter what

This doesn’t mean that you should brush your teeth at 9 am, again at 10 am, and call it a day. It is recommended that you brush your teeth right after waking up and just before going to bed.

Brush for a minimum of two minutes each time

Just brushing your teeth twice per day is not enough. Dentists recommend brushing your teeth for a minimum of 2 minutes at a time. This allows enough time to reach all the areas you need to reach with your toothbrush. If brushing for 2 minutes seems difficult, you can actually purchase a “training toothbrush” that has a 2-minute song. The song plays while you brush to acclimate you to brushing for a solid 2 minutes.

Use mouthwash

Mouthwash is often overlooked when discussing dental hygiene, but mouthwash can be very effective as part of an overall dental hygiene regimen. Also, it only takes about 30 seconds and little-to-no effort to rinse your mouth with mouthwash. If mouthwash tends to dry your mouth, you may consider using a mouthwash that doesn’t contain alcohol, or a mouthwash specially designed for people with dry mouths.

Floss at least once per day

A dentist was once asked by a patient: “It is really difficult to floss my back teeth. If I had to choose, which teeth are most important to floss?” The dentist calmly responded, “The ones you want to keep.” Once you practice flossing on a daily basis, not only will you get better at it, the time it takes will reduce greatly.

Keep your toothbrush fresh and new

Your toothbrush should be replaced every 3-6 months. Just imagine the germs that have a chance to collect inside the bristles of a toothbrush over a 6-month period! Also, the bristles begin to stress and wear out, thus reducing the cleaning power of the brush itself.

If you would like more tips and information from our Cary Dental Specialists on how to improve your dental health in the new year, contact us today!